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Training & Mentoring

In-house management training and one-to-one executive mentoring, tailored to your company: seven hands-on training programmes and five mentoring programmes. All are led by HCBC partners, and every programme is built on real management decisions.

01 / Training

For your team

Who it’s for
A management team or level
Duration
2 days; can also run as 1 day or 4 half days
Agenda
The programme topic, tailored to your company
How
An interactive workshop that works with numbers, with decisions made as a team
7 training programmes

02 / Mentoring

For your executive

Who it’s for
A single executive, one to one
Duration
6 months
Agenda
The executive brings the agenda
How
The mentor, having made these decisions, shares experience openly; the decision stays with the executive
5 mentoring programmes

Trainers and mentors are HCBC partners who have made these decisions in their own chairs.

Which programme should you start with? In the first meeting we listen to your team and choose together.

Get in touchBy form or by email.

Download the Training & Mentoring sheet PDF · 158 KB

Training · 01

Finance for Non-Financial Managers

See the financial footprint of your decisions.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainer

A two-day hands-on programme for managers who do not come from finance. Participants read the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement using the figures of a fictional paint manufacturer, calculate the key indicators and see where their own units' decisions leave a mark on these statements.

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Reads the income statement step by step and explains, in their own words, the difference between gross profit, EBITDA, operating profit and net profit.

  2. 02

    Calculates how much money receivables, inventory and payables tie up on the balance sheet, in days (DSO, DIO, DPO).

  3. 03

    Builds the bridge from profit to cash and answers “we made a profit, so where is the money?” with figures.

  4. 04

    Spots red flags in profitability, liquidity, leverage and efficiency ratios.

  5. 05

    Maps three decisions of their own unit by their effect on the income statement, balance sheet and cash.

  6. 06

    Splits a budget variance into volume and margin effects and brings the right questions to the finance meeting.

The two days

Day 1

  1. The language of finance and the three statements
  2. Income statement: from sales to net profit
  3. Balance sheet: a snapshot of one day
  4. Cash flow: profit is not cash

Day 2

  1. Ratios and red flags
  2. The financial footprint of a decision
  3. Budget, variance and talking to finance
  4. Integrated case and close

Training · 02

Financial Decision-Making for Executives

Weigh profit, cash and investment at the same table.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainer

A two-day decision programme for managers who can already read financial statements. Participants assess the price cut, product exit, payment-term request, investment and scenario decisions on a fictional paint manufacturer's 2026 agenda through contribution margin, cash and risk; the programme closes with a role-played board decision meeting.

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Separates costs into fixed and variable; calculates contribution margin, break-even and operating leverage and uses them in decisions.

  2. 02

    Calculates the volume change a price cut or increase needs to keep profit unchanged.

  3. 03

    Calculates the incremental effect of dropping a product, customer or line without falling into the allocated fixed-cost trap.

  4. 04

    Calculates the cash and financing effect of payment-term, inventory and supplier decisions; anticipates the cash that growth will need.

  5. 05

    Assesses an investment proposal by net present value, internal rate of return and payback; tests assumptions with sensitivity analysis.

  6. 06

    Builds pessimistic, base and optimistic scenarios; sets early-warning indicators and decision thresholds.

The two days

Day 1

  1. Decision frame: profit, cash and risk
  2. Cost behaviour: contribution margin and break-even
  3. Price, volume and product decisions
  4. Cash and working capital decisions

Day 2

  1. Investment decisions: the time value of money
  2. Scenarios, sensitivity and early warning
  3. The board decision meeting
  4. Decision checklist and close

Training · 03

KPI Design and Performance Management

Manage the right behaviour with the right indicator.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainer

A two-day hands-on programme that rebuilds what a company measures, how it sets targets and how it reacts to variance. Participants prune a fictional logistics company's 64-indicator report, write indicator cards, set targets and thresholds, and build a one-page dashboard and a follow-up rhythm.

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Sorts the existing indicator list into outcome, leading and health indicators and removes duplicates and indicators with no owner.

  2. 02

    Builds a value tree from a company goal and chooses no more than 5–7 indicators for each layer.

  3. 03

    Writes an indicator card for each indicator with its definition, formula, data source, frequency, owner and threshold.

  4. 04

    Foresees the side behaviour an indicator will create and pairs it with a second indicator that balances it.

  5. 05

    Sets targets and red-amber-green thresholds from baseline, benchmark and capacity, and cascades targets to sub-units.

  6. 06

    Designs a one-page dashboard, tells normal fluctuation from a real signal and sets up a follow-up rhythm with an action log for variances.

The two days

Day 1

  1. Why indicators mislead
  2. From strategy to indicators: the value tree
  3. The indicator card: definition, formula, owner
  4. Side effects and balance

Day 2

  1. Setting targets and thresholds
  2. The dashboard and how to read it
  3. Follow-up rhythm: meeting, variance, action
  4. Adapting it to your company and a 30-day plan

Training · 04

Pricing, Margin and Commercial Performance in Sales

Manage price, margin and sales in one equation.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainers

Builds a shared commercial equation where sales wants volume, finance wants margin and management wants both. Participants work through the leakage from list price to pocket price, the volume a discount must earn back, customer and product profitability, and how a sales result splits into price, volume and mix effects. Over two days they work on the commercial decisions of a fictional water treatment company.

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Calculates, at the table and in five minutes, the effect of a price, discount or promotion offer on contribution margin and operating profit.

  2. 02

    Draws the waterfall from list price to pocket price for their own product and names the largest leak.

  3. 03

    Answers a discount request with “how many more units do we need to sell?”; compares the options for passing a cost increase on to price with figures.

  4. 04

    Reads customer and product profitability together with cost-to-serve; prepares a negotiation option for a loss-making customer.

  5. 05

    Splits the sales result into price, volume, mix and cost effects and runs the monthly commercial meeting with this bridge.

  6. 06

    Redesigns the discount authority matrix and the sales indicator (KPI) set so that they protect margin.

The two days

Day 1

  1. The commercial equation: volume, price, cost and margin
  2. The real price: from list price to pocket price
  3. The volume a discount must earn back, and pricing changes
  4. Setting prices and managing price increases

Day 2

  1. Customer and product profitability, with cost-to-serve
  2. Sales performance: the price-volume-mix bridge and sales indicators
  3. Pricing governance and the commercial performance rhythm

Training · 05

Purchasing, Inventory and Planning: Performance in the Supply Chain

Let inventory, purchasing and planning look at the same number.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainers

Teaches how to decide when sales says “keep everything in stock”, finance says “cut inventory” and purchasing says “let's buy in bulk”. Participants work on the cash language of inventory, forecast error, safety stock, order quantity, a supplier's total cost and sales and operations planning, using the figures of a fictional water treatment company. They end by building a management rhythm that tracks supply chain performance with a few indicators (KPIs).

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Talks about inventory in days, turnover and carrying cost; calculates the cash and profit effect of reducing inventory.

  2. 02

    Classifies materials with ABC-XYZ and proposes a different inventory and purchasing policy for each class.

  3. 03

    Measures forecast error and bias; separates the forecast from the target.

  4. 04

    Calculates safety stock, reorder point and order quantity together with the service level target; tests the real return of a bulk-purchase discount.

  5. 05

    Compares suppliers by total cost of ownership rather than unit price.

  6. 06

    Sets up the monthly sales and operations planning meeting and the supply chain indicator (KPI) set, including OTIF.

The two days

Day 1

  1. The end-to-end supply chain: service, cost and cash
  2. The language of inventory: categories, ABC-XYZ and slow movers
  3. Demand planning: forecast, error and bias
  4. Inventory policy: safety stock, reorder point and order quantity

Day 2

  1. Purchasing: total cost of ownership and supplier positioning
  2. Sales and operations planning (S&OP): balancing demand and supply
  3. Supply chain performance: indicators, OTIF and the management rhythm

Training · 06

Delegation, Authority and Decision Mechanisms in Management

Move the decision to the right level.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainers

A two-day hands-on programme on why decisions pile up at the top and at which level authority should sit. Participants build the decision inventory of a fictional manufacturing company, design its authority matrix, rehearse the delegation conversation, and leave with a 30-day delegation plan for their own unit.

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Classifies the decisions that reach their desk by impact and reversibility, and says at which level each should be taken and why.

  2. 02

    When delegating, discusses the expected result, limits, resources, level of delegation and checkpoints openly.

  3. 03

    Drafts an authority matrix for their unit with amount, risk and time thresholds.

  4. 04

    Notices work that is being pushed back up and hands it back to its owner.

  5. 05

    Separates decision meetings from information meetings and records each decision with its owner and date.

  6. 06

    Sets checkpoints and exception rules to follow a delegated decision without losing control.

The two days

Day 1

  1. Where do decisions get stuck?
  2. What delegation is and is not
  3. Types of decisions and the right level
  4. Designing the authority matrix

Day 2

  1. The delegation conversation and work pushed back up
  2. Decision mechanisms: meetings, records and escalation
  3. Following up without losing control
  4. Adapting it to my unit and a 30-day plan

Training · 07

Performance Systems, Organization and Competency Management

Build organization, competency and performance together.

Duration
2 daysalso as 1 day or 4 half days
Participants
Sized to your teamwe agree the group size together
Method
Interactive workshopcase work, Excel calculations, group work
Trainer

A two-day hands-on programme that builds organization structure, role definitions, the competency model and the performance appraisal process as one system. In a fictional logistics company that has grown fast, participants measure spans of control, write role and competency profiles, calibrate appraisal results and rehearse the performance conversation.

After the programme, participants

  1. 01

    Reads the organization structure through span of control, number of layers and role overlap, and compares structure options with their rationale.

  2. 02

    Writes a role definition made of purpose, areas of responsibility, decision rights, relationships and success measures.

  3. 03

    Builds a competency model of a few distinctive competencies described as behaviours, and writes their levels.

  4. 04

    Measures the competency gap between role and person and turns it into a development plan weighted towards on-the-job learning.

  5. 05

    Designs an appraisal process weighted on goals and competencies, recognises rating errors and runs the calibration meeting.

  6. 06

    Holds an evidence-based, future-focused performance conversation and handles difficult conversations.

The two days

Day 1

  1. Three mechanisms, one system
  2. Organization structure and span of control
  3. Role design
  4. The competency model

Day 2

  1. The gap between role and person, and development
  2. The appraisal process and calibration
  3. The performance conversation
  4. Connecting the system and a 30-day plan

Mentoring · 01

CEO & Senior Management Mentoring

In big decisions, someone who has sat in that chair is beside you.

Duration
6 months12 sessions of 90 minutes
Format
One-to-onealso as a first-100-days or peer-circle format
Agenda
The mentee brings itthe real work, that week’s issue
Mentors

A one-to-one programme in which general managers and senior executives discuss their own real agenda regularly, for six months, with a mentor who has sat in that chair. The mentee brings the agenda: a board presentation, an appointment in the top team, a budget negotiation, a major change decision. The mentor shares experience and views openly and leaves the decision to the mentee.

How the six months unfold

  1. 45 minIntroduction
  2. Month 1Start: agreement and opening three-way meeting
  3. Months 2–5Deepening: two sessions a month, mid-point review
  4. Month 6Close and closing three-way meeting
  5. +3 monthsFollow-up session

Topics most often brought to the table

  • Relations with the board and shareholders
  • Strategy and priorities: what to say no to
  • Building and leading the top team
  • Decision rhythm and delegation
  • Managing by the numbers: cash, profitability, budget
  • Crisis, bad news and difficult conversations
  • Leading in family businesses and shared ownership
  • Leading change
  • Their own time, energy and loneliness

After six months, the executive

  1. 01

    Sets the board agenda; takes decision options, not just information, to the board.

  2. 02

    Chooses the year's three to five priorities and says no, with reasons, to work outside them.

  3. 03

    Discusses roles, expectations and the weak link in the top team openly; makes a delayed appointment decision.

  4. 04

    Moves decisions to the right level and reduces the work piling up on their own desk.

  5. 05

    Takes bad news to the board and shareholders early, together with options.

  6. 06

    Divides their own time consciously between strategy, people and day-to-day work.

Mentoring · 02

Finance & CFO Mentoring

Discuss the finance chair's agenda with someone who knows that chair.

Duration
6 months12 sessions of 90 minutes
Format
One-to-onealso as a first-100-days or peer-circle format
Agenda
The mentee brings itthe real work, that week’s issue
Mentor

A one-to-one programme in which finance directors, heads of financial affairs and finance managers preparing for the CFO role discuss their own real agenda regularly, for six months, with a mentor who has sat in that chair. The mentee brings the agenda: a bank meeting, a budget going to the board, an auditor's finding, an argument over numbers with the general manager. The mentor shares experience and views openly and leaves the decision to the mentee.

How the six months unfold

  1. 45 minIntroduction
  2. Month 1Start: agreement and opening three-way meeting
  3. Months 2–5Deepening: two sessions a month, mid-point review
  4. Month 6Close and closing three-way meeting
  5. +3 monthsFollow-up session

Topics most often brought to the table

  • Decision partnership with the general manager and the board
  • Cash and working capital
  • Bank relations and financing
  • Budget, forecast and business control
  • Management reporting and profitability visibility
  • Currency, interest and inflation risks
  • Audit, tax and internal control
  • Investment and capital allocation
  • Building and transforming the finance team
  • Independence, pressure and saying “no”

After six months, the executive

  1. 01

    Takes not numbers but the decision options the numbers call for to the general manager and the board.

  2. 02

    Manages cash with a weekly view ahead; resolves working capital squeezes together with sales and purchasing.

  3. 03

    Builds relationships with banks in good times and talks to them without surprises, and with options, in bad times.

  4. 04

    Makes unit managers own their budget variances; updates the forecast regularly during the year.

  5. 05

    Protects the accuracy of the numbers under pressure; says “no”, with reasons and in time, where it is needed.

  6. 06

    Grows the finance team from closing and booking towards analysis and business support; prepares a successor.

Mentoring · 03

Sales & Commercial Management Mentoring

Discuss your commercial decisions with someone seasoned in the field.

Duration
6 months12 sessions of 90 minutes
Format
One-to-onealso as a first-100-days or peer-circle format
Agenda
The mentee brings itthe real work, that week’s issue
Mentor

A one-to-one programme in which sales directors and commercial managers discuss their own real commercial agenda regularly, for six months, with a mentor who has sat in that chair. The mentee brings the agenda: a price increase, a negotiation with a major customer, a change to the bonus system, an unprofitable customer or a quarter behind target. The mentor shares experience and views openly and leaves the decision to the mentee.

How the six months unfold

  1. 45 minIntroduction
  2. Month 1Start: agreement and opening three-way meeting
  3. Months 2–5Deepening: two sessions a month, mid-point review
  4. Month 6Close and closing three-way meeting
  5. +3 monthsFollow-up session

Topics most often brought to the table

  • Pricing decisions and price discipline
  • Discounts, pocket price and authority
  • Customer and product profitability
  • Key accounts and major negotiations
  • Building and leading the sales team
  • Targets, bonuses and indicators (KPIs)
  • Sales forecasting and balance with operations
  • Payment terms, collection and commercial risk
  • Channels, distributors and new markets
  • The commercial leader's position: management, finance and their own time

After six months, the executive

  1. 01

    Weighs price and discount decisions by their effect on profit as well as volume; gets the team asking “what does this discount buy us?” too.

  2. 02

    Plans, rather than postpones, passing cost increases on to price; goes to the customer with a rationale and options.

  3. 03

    Knows unprofitable customers and products by name; decides for each whether to grow, reprice or exit.

  4. 04

    Enters major negotiations having set their own limit, alternative and trade-off list in advance.

  5. 05

    Sets the sales team's targets, bonuses and indicators (KPIs) so that they also account for profit and collection.

  6. 06

    Discusses commercial decisions with the general manager, finance and operations on the same numbers; ties delivery promises to sales promises.

Mentoring · 04

People & Organization Leadership Mentoring

An experienced second pair of eyes on people and organization decisions.

Duration
6 months12 sessions of 90 minutes
Format
One-to-onealso as a first-100-days or peer-circle format
Agenda
The mentee brings itthe real work, that week’s issue
Mentor

A one-to-one programme in which human resources and organization leaders discuss their own real agenda regularly, for six months, with a mentor who has sat in this chair. The mentee brings the agenda: an organizational change, a pay-rise decision, a successor for a key role, a difficult meeting with the union, a disagreement with the general manager. The mentor shares experience and views openly and leaves the decision to the mentee.

How the six months unfold

  1. 45 minIntroduction
  2. Month 1Start: agreement and opening three-way meeting
  3. Months 2–5Deepening: two sessions a month, mid-point review
  4. Month 6Close and closing three-way meeting
  5. +3 monthsFollow-up session

Topics most often brought to the table

  • Partnership with the general manager and the top team
  • Organization structure and role design
  • Key roles, talent and succession
  • Performance and goal setting
  • Pay, benefits and allocating a limited budget
  • Growing management capacity
  • Employee relations, unions and difficult periods
  • HR's place in culture and change
  • People data and indicators
  • The HR leader's own position and team

After six months, the executive

  1. 01

    Takes people and organization matters to the general manager and top team in the language of business results, cost and risk; is involved in decisions from the start.

  2. 02

    Builds an organizational change around roles and decision flow, not people; plans the transition and the order of announcements.

  3. 03

    Draws up a realistic picture of key roles and their successors; knows which roles would stop the business if left empty, and acts on it.

  4. 04

    Differentiates a limited budget in pay and performance decisions with clear reasons, and gives managers defensible language.

  5. 05

    Runs the process fairly, quickly and on record in difficult periods such as downsizing, union negotiations or ethics complaints.

  6. 06

    Takes the first steps to turn their own team from a transaction-processing unit into one that supports managers.

Mentoring · 05

Transformation & Performance Mentoring

While you lead the change, someone who has walked that road is beside you.

Duration
6 months12 sessions of 90 minutes
Format
One-to-onealso as a first-100-days or peer-circle format
Agenda
The mentee brings itthe real work, that week’s issue
Mentors

A one-to-one programme in which the manager leading a transformation or performance improvement programme discusses their own real agenda for six months with a mentor who has led similar programmes. The mentee brings the agenda: a stalled project, a resisting unit, an indicator that is not moving, a status report due to management. The mentor shares experience and views openly and leaves the decision to the mentee.

How the six months unfold

  1. 45 minIntroduction
  2. Month 1Start: agreement and opening three-way meeting
  3. Months 2–5Deepening: two sessions a month, mid-point review
  4. Month 6Close and closing three-way meeting
  5. +3 monthsFollow-up session

Topics most often brought to the table

  • Defining the purpose and result of the transformation
  • Project portfolio: reducing and sequencing
  • Working with the sponsor and management
  • Reading resistance
  • Early, visible results
  • Tying the new way to daily management
  • Status reports and telling the truth
  • Balancing consultants, suppliers and the internal team
  • The strength and resilience of the person leading the programme

After six months, the executive

  1. 01

    Writes down clearly which result the transformation programme will show, by which date and with which indicator, and agrees on it with management.

  2. 02

    Reduces the number of projects running at once; decides, with reasons, to stop or restart one.

  3. 03

    Reads resistance: builds justified objections into the plan and overcomes resistance born of habit through ownership and visible results.

  4. 04

    Turns the status report from a list of green lights into an early account of risks and the decisions needed from management.

  5. 05

    Ties the new process to the daily management rhythm (meetings, indicators, targets) and prevents a return to the old ways when the programme ends.

  6. 06

    Manages their own energy and fatigue; stops being the programme's only carrier.